One Step Behind
by Otat bichachos
Summary: Tom Riddle is dead...long live Lord Voldemort. But is it possible he had a particular accomplice...a raven-haired mischief maker? What could Loki possibly have to do with Harry Potter, and why did the babe appear at Thor's doorstep that night, only for Dumbledore to send him off? Would Tony Stark happen to be involved, and is Dumbledore hiding a sinister plot? FrostIron,now m-rated
1. Prelude - Hogwarts

_Everything was serene, silent as all eyes settled upon the figure, lone in the dark. It was a young man, no more than eighteen or nineteen, now splayed across the ground in an awkward posture. His dark locks fell over his closed eyelids in a messy heap, glasses tilted in an odd direction on the bridge of his nose._

_The Dark Lord hesitated, biting his lips briefly in anxiety. Was the boy finally dead? Was he gone forever? He had felt pain when the boy had been struck with his magic, a fluttering and then burning sensation entering his chest. Something had died with the boy. Not emotion. Just...a part of his very soul. It sickened him to the core to even think of it._

_"Is Potter dead?" was all he asked. _

_A little blonde woman, looking timid and fragile, took a step forward to go check. A taller man, pale and white as snow with greasy, slicked back, raven hair moved with agile past her._

_"Allow me," he said, his voice gruff with a slight hint of a faint british accent. His jade eyes flickered from the Dark Lord back to the young man, before he approached the body. _

_He tenderly knelt down beside him, brushing the locks nearly as dark as his own out of his face. Immediately, he received a reaction. The boy scrunched his nose, his nostrils flaring for a moment, before he slipped back into unconsciousness. _

_The man moved his fingers to the boy's slim neck, feeling for a pulse of any sort. It was faint, but yes, he was still very much so alive. The man licked his lips to wet them, before, as quietly as possible, murmuring some sort of spell. The pulse vanished, the boy looking evermore still than before. It was a vex, something to make him appear deceased. And thankfully, it seemed to be working._

_"Well?" the Dark Lord asked, his impatience ever growing._

_His work done, the Deatheater stood up, swallowing hard as he stared at the man he had called his friend for so many years, this time his gaze not faltering._

_"Dead." _

~.::.~

"You ungrateful son! I took you in after that bastard threw you on the streets, gave you my name, my home...you better not screw up at this new school or it'll be the last time you see daylight when I'm finished with you!"

Loki drummed his fingernails against the wooden, protruding windowsill. Odin's words rang in his ears, replaying over and over again like a ruined record player.

"Laufey's son. Leader of the Jotun Mafia."

He had been expelled from his last school. Turns out they didn't take kindly to those who love mischief as much as Loki had been. Not like he was the only one who did any of the sort...but this shenanigan was set up by not only himself but Thor. But Thor was the "golden son" of the family. Of course Odin wouldn't blame him, he was far too blind under that dingy golden eyepatch of his to ever even see Loki as his son. No, Loki was the adopted bastard of the mafia leader Laufey Jötnar, and that meant he had to be "oh so grateful" to Odin for "taking him in when no one wanted him." Of course, he had been a baby then...his mother died in childbirth and Laufey was arrested for thievery, murder, amongst other things. A criminal in the wizarding world.

Loki refused to simply be labelled "Laufey's son" now that he knew the truth. He was not the "spawn of a corrupt Mafia." No, he was merely Loki now, and he would made Odin proud of him. One day he would. Except...that's what he had been telling himself every day now for the past seventeen years of his life. That's what he told himself when he was sent to the Asgard School for Wizardry and Witchcraft. That's what he was forcing himself to think now that he was to attend this new school...Hogwarts, was it called? The name didn't matter to Loki. He had two more years to go. Only two. Then he would be away from Odin, making his own way in the small world in which he lived.

Quietly, he watched the clouds and the grasslands drift by. He found himself observing every flash of green, from the dense treetops in the distance to each little leaflet of a passing shrub. Counting what few animals they passed. He was bored. He was lonely, and...he was still hurting.

"Are you the new transfer kid?" a feminine voice interrupted. Loki glanced up, raising an eyebrow.

"Perhaps I am." he muttered.

The woman before him had long red hair, falling in waves over her shoulders, and a pair of piercing green eyes, narrowed into suspicious slits like a cat. A black leather jacket and pants told Loki immediately she was more of a tomboy, a Slytherin green-and-black scarf slung around her neck as she took a seat across from him.

"Natasha Romanoff, Slytherin 7th year. I would say 'Welcome to Hogwarts' but you don't seem like much of a warm, fuzzy, chatty type." Natasha introduced, thinning her lips and observing his every move.

He leaned back away from the window of the train, folding his arms neatly over his chest.

"Loki..." he paused. Who was he now? If he wasn't a Laufeyson, and he wasn't an Odinson, that what was he?

Natasha seemed genuinely confused for a moment, tipping her head to the side. She parted her lips to say something, but he caught up on his temporary confusion, letting out a brief sigh.

"Loki Odinson," he reluctantly responded, "I used to go to the Asgard school, but I might have broken it. I'm also Slytherin."

He indicated the small snake-shaped badge on his thick trench coat. She nodded.

She smirked for a moment, eyes brimming with thought, but said nothing. So he continued for her.

"I'm assuming you've been here since 1st year. Have you not any other friends to bother you, Miss Romanoff?" he mused.

Natasha smiled innocently, a taut, amused expression crossing her lips.

"I have one friend named Clint. He's a hufflepuff, but his train booth was full. And you looked bored, so I thought it best to attempt to cheer you up. Which clearly is not working, is it?"

"Yes and no. You amuse me, Miss Romanoff." Loki responded diligently, his own sort of smirk rising up.

The redheaded woman shrugged.

"Natasha or Nat, please, Mister Odinson," she mocked. He practically shuddered at the name.

"As for me, Loki would be fine. Pleasure to be acquainted."

He reached forward for her hand, which she immediately shook. At an instant, both of them grinned-the cat and the raven, hand in hand mischief makers.

~.::.~

~.::.~

_The man stood before him, trembling, coated in cuts and blood. His eyes were wide, fearful, distant in a mass of chaos and ruin. What had once been a vivid, bright shade had been finally consumed in an electric blue. Tony took a stride towards him, but the man skittishly backed away, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks._

_"No! Don't touch me, I don't want t-t-...to hurt you!" he shrieked, his hands like claws as they jaggedly wrapped around his hips. He stumbled, nearly tripping over himself. Tony could only watch, feeling like a dagger was pierced through his heart. He knew who did this to him, he knew who had tainted his lover's magic and stole his sanity._

_"How long has it been in your blood? In your magic?" Tony queried. The man trembled, shaking his head._

_"Too long...too long, too long..." he began rambling on, repeating it and shaking his head. Tony couldn't take it anymore. It was painful to watch him like this, tears rolling down his cheek and on the verge of going completely mad. _

_He gripped his shoulders, shaking them gently, though his hold was firm, trying to knock some sense into him._

_"Stop! Stop, you're going to hurt yourself! Jesus..." he stopped when he realized that his lover was beginning to leak out blood again from his wounds, having gripped them so hard they had reopened._

_"Damn it!" Tony roared. The man whimpered, seeming to shrink down in his skin._

_Tony bit his lip hard, unsure what to do. He never had really strong magic, he wasn't certain of how well his magic would hold up and cleanse the wounds. The Tesseract would've tainted his lover's magic so much by now that foreign magic would only make it worse. No, he would have to do it the old fashioned way._

_"Go lie down on the couch, take off your shirt and do NOT move! Is that clear?" Tony ordered._

_The man nodded, quickly moving towards the couch. Tony turned his back, fumbling through supply cabinets to try to look for a first aid kit._

_"I mean first the Tesseract, then Azkaban, then this? Don't bleed out on me, okay?"_

_He glanced over his shoulder, hoping the man would've made some sort of response, but he was met with silence. Not another soul in sight. Tony clenched his fists, his rage and hurt bubbling._

_'He always leaves,' Tony thought, a stray tear leaving his cheek, 'he's always done this...please, don't get yourself killed. Come back. For me?'_

~.::.~

Tony simply could not peel his eyes off of the transfer kid during detention.

The kid was tall, lanky, and...really handsome. He reminded Tony a bit like Tom, except...less sinister, and less brotherly.

"It is rude to gawk," the kid grumbled, rolling his jade eyes and continuing to write a hundred times on his respective chalk board, 'I will not explode potions during Professor Slughorn's class.'

Tony shrugged, flashing him a cocky grin before continuing to additionally write on his own board, 'I will not use Muggle technology to cheat on tests.'

"So what's your name? Tony Stark, Ravenclaw." Tony casually asked.

"Loki Odinson, Slytherin. I'm sure you as well as anyone else in this blasted school knows my brother, Thor." Loki muttered back.

The director of Detention, Nick Fury, raised his one good eye and glared at the two students talking during their punishment.

"Quiet now, and write!" he warned, before turning his back and continuing to work diligently at his desk.

Director Fury was a frightening guy. He was dark-skinned, with equally imposing dark brown eyes-well, eye, the other one was ripped out when one of the students conjured a lion during detention and it immediately attacked him-that threatened any and everyone at every glance. It didn't frighten Tony. He was here frequently. The Director was used to seeing him in detention.

"Thor's your brother?" Tony whispered over his shoulder. Loki shrugged.

"Unfortunately." Loki replied.

"Does everyone else in your family have large muscles like that guy? Like, he must work out 24/7 in order to have a six-pack that large!"

Loki raised his left eyebrow, his lips quivering into a scowl.

"Are you just here to childishly prattle or may I return to my punishment? At this rate your consistent droning is a punishment all on its own." Loki spat, his chalk screeching across the board as he finished the last "." on the 100th sentence.

He strolled past Tony, not even giving him a second glance, before retrieving his hall pass and exiting the detention room.

Tony smirked, a cheery, mischievous glint appearing in his eyes.

'Well damn. He's hot,' he thought with mirth. They still had a year together in Hogwarts...that was plenty of time to get Loki to like him. And Tony knew his ways. He always had luck with the ladies, he would use his charms and bam! Loki would be all over him in a flash!

"Stop staring at the doorway, Stark, and keep writing before I write you up for incompetence!" the Director boomed. Tony shrugged, picked up his white piece of chalk, and pressed it against the board to continue his detention.

~.::.~

~.::.~

_The boy clung to him, his hazel eyes like a doused flame, the look of a kicked puppy settling on his face._

_"You wish to take me to your school, you will take him too. He is my brother" was all he said firmly, gesturing to the small child._

_Dumbledore raised his graying eyebrows, a confused gaze crossing his features. He knew that the two children were not at all related. _

_"Very well."_

_The younger boy glanced up to him, a brief sigh of relief escaping his lips, his hands loosening around his arm. The older boy smiled reassuringly, wrapping his arms around his small-framed shoulders._

_'I will protect you, don't worry. I will always protect you.'_

~.::.~

Tom was overprotective of Anthony.

That was a given. Tom didn't have the capacity to truly love in any romantic way, but he did have feelings. Especially for his "little brother".

Tony had his arms around that transfer student. It'd been six months since school session at Hogwarts continued. Tom narrowed his eyes into slits, observing as Tony pleasantly chit-chatted with this newbie along with their friends.

Tom couldn't help but lighten up briefly for a moment. Tony was certainly improving since this mysterious Norwegian kid showed around.

And they were too close for comfort. At least for Tom. He didn't like that green glint in the boy's eyes, the smiles that Anthony returned to him.

Tom strolled casually forward, standing to loom behind Anthony, raising his gaze suspiciously and halting to stand upright.

Both Clint and Thor stopped their obnoxious chatter, glancing up wide-eyed to look at Tom, lanky, tall, and dark in his black velvet robes.

"Anthony, what are you doing?" he growled.

Anthony glanced up rather innocently at first, clearly not afraid of his older brother.

"Who knotted your panties today, Tommy?" he teased, his free hand patting his brother's arm affectionately. Tom snorted.

"Do not call me that. I don't believe I've met your...friend." The last word came out a snarl.

"Oh yeah, Tom! This is Loki, my boyffffff-" Anthony stopped mid-sentence, seemingly shrinking into his skin. Loki frowned, glancing from both Tom to Anthony with albeit confusion.

Tom forced his lips not to quiver upwards in a smirk.

'Caught you, little brother.' he thought.

"What did we discuss, Anthony? You're not dating until you are out of Wizarding College." with that, he turned on his heels, beginning to walk away. Anthony rolled his eyes, muttering something to Loki before chasing after him.

"Aww c'mon Tommy! You can't control my life, you didn't even bother to meet him!" he argued, running to catch up with him. For someone so sinister looking, Tom walked obnoxiously fast.

"Anthony-my answer is still no. End this little fling now, or I shall end it for you. Nothing good comes from a useless relationship." Tom coldly snapped. With a flick of his wrists, he vanished, leaving Anthony wide-eyed and sputtering in the middle of the halls.


	2. Chapter 1 - Shut the Door

Loki hated parties.

All the noise, the drama. Ugh. It was the last thing on his mind that afternoon, before Anthony decided that it'd just be such a SWELL idea to invite their entire clanad of former classmates to their home for a shabang.

And came, they certainly did. Flocking almost every corner of the home. Up against the walls, the floors, the ceilings. Couples smooching it out and probably more. That's why Loki had taken to sitting on the roof until it was over, endulging as much as he could into the intriguing novel.

He waited, like a sly black cat, slinking through the window back into his bedroom (well, not really his, most nights he was curled against Anthony's chest-again, very catlike), down the halls and the long, winding staircase to find most of the company gone already. All that remained was the usual crowd of night owls: Tom, Thor, and Anthony. Three T's. Plain White T's, or whatever that useless Muggle band was called. Loki didn't really care.

"BROTHER!" came the annoying screech that -unfortunately- belonged to Thor. As much as Loki -occaisionally- appreciated his older, blonde, oafish brother, there was a great amount of loathing that came with. Especially for that obnoxiously loud voice.

"Good evening, Thor," Loki said casually with his good level of snark, "Go home. I don't wish to be infected with your drunken stupor."

"Aww brother, I had but a shot of liquor! Come join us, we were just about to discuss the next party!" Thor bumbled out. Loki rolled his eyes.

When did Thor ever only have one shot? He wouldn't believe it for a second. That never happened in his life...so many times had Dumbledore caught him on campus getting frisky with the witches and guzzling down beer, it was a wonder had not yet been expelled.

Loki allowed Anthony to lean against him, smiling cheekily with that adoring puppy-eyed gaze he always gave him. 'The lovable shorty,' Loki thought, leaning down to peck a kiss on his lips and ask how the party went (not that he truly cared), before Tom interjected. Again, as usual.

Tom pushed an arm absentmindedly between their faces, completely blocking Loki from Anthony in any way, shape, or form. Quite happily as he did so, Anthony was not happy at this regard, crossing his arms with a huff and taking a step back.

"Seriously? C'mon. Lokes n' I have been dating for three years. THREE. Give it a rest, old man." Anthony whined.

Tom cocked a curious eyebrow, a slight smirk doting his face.

"Why would I give it a rest? I have told you multiple times Anthony that you can not date until you finish Wizarding College."

Tony licked his lips, waggling his eyebrows.

"You're jealous 'coz you're a viiiiiiirgin, Tommy." He protested teasingly, slapping his brother's shoulders and moving to go pour himself another drink. In a sweep of magic, Loki snatched the drink telepathically from Tony's hands, the glass placidly being wrapped around in his fingers as he swallowed it down, his green eyes glinting with mirth.

"Don't tease your brother, it's unkind, Anthony." Loki retorted, "Besides, he did get us this house."

"What makes you think I'm a virgin Anthony? I do know how to get what I want, you know." Tom said suggestively.

"Now you sound like Lokes, Tom." Anthony grumbled.

Anthony bowed his head in defeat, having once again lost a battle to his brother, and a drink to his boyfriend, taking a seat on the barstool.

He twisted his gaze to land on Loki, a smile quirking onto his lips, before he mouthed the words, "We are so gonna make out tonight when they're gone."

Loki nodded, his own perverted mind being influenced vividly by the beverage he consumed, turning his gaze to Thor, who was still planted in front of the sports television. He glanced Tom's way, a bit of worry in his look.

"Tom, I hate to ask you a favor but would you make sure he gets home tonight? He's probably drunken himself a keg by now." he groaned, nudging his brother who was groggy and half-asleep.

"I suppose I could take him home for you, but you two remember safe sex." Tom said, tossing a sex ed book at them, while smirking.

Anthony threw up his hands in protest.

"JESUS, Tom! We get it, get out of here!" Anthony objected in utter frustration. Loki shrugged, picking up the book carefully and placing it in the recycle bin (even if they were not muggles, Loki's mother would be scolding him for wasting such a gracious amount of paper).

"I have more, so recycling it does no good. On the other hand it gives me more chances to throw them at you." Tom threw yet another over his shoulder while walking towards Thor.

Loki scowled, though he was glimmering with mischief, cocking his chin up to meet Tom's gaze.

"Do you really distrust me, Tom, after all the Dark Magic we've been learning together?" he asked, green eyes challenging and calculating.

"Distrust you? Yes this is my Brother I don't trust anyone with him." Tom said glaring at Loki, whilst getting ready to disapparate with Thor.

"Aww. I love you too," Anthony concored sarcasically, tossing his last bottle of empty wine into the waste bin. Thor tiredly got to his feet, slumping after Tom with a zombie-like expression. Only, Loki stopped him, patting Thor gently on the back.

"Sleep in late, I'll come see you in the morning. Don't do anything stupid, brother."

Thor nodded, though Loki was certain he'd forget the next day. He rolled his eyes, glancing over Tom's way.

"Please make sure he doesn't detour. Last time he was drunk, he ended up having a pregnancy scare with that Hufflepuff Jarnaxa." Loki said, a bit of pleading in his tone.

"Of course he will not detour, as soon as I get him home he is having a dreamless sleep. I dont wish to bother going after him as the only sober one here." Tom sneered.

Loki and Anthony saw them out, Anthony wiping the sweat off his brow, Loki tiredly reaching for his coat.

"Woah woah woah-" Anthony objected, raising his eyebrows in concern, "Where are you going?"

"Out. I feel claustrophobic after your entourage of...pleasant guests." Loki muttered, pushing the door open and beginning to walk on out.

"C'mon, I thought we were gonna have fun!" Anthony objected, but in a cloak of dark magic, Loki had already gone.

It was the usual sort of thing for Anthony. Loki came and went like a raven, fluttering in and out of his life. One time he was gone for a whole year- "sightseeing" as Loki claimed. He brought back some exotic beer from some place called "Guatamala" for him. Not that Anthony truly cared for the prizes. He just wanted his Loki, and the way things were before.

Of course, things had changed since that one incident...no, he wouldn't think about it. Loki had ran away and out of his life the last time, taken months to coax him to come back. Tony had gotten too close to the Tesseract. For a moment, Tony nearly died. Dumbledore had the artifact sent away, to God knows where. Loki couldn't handle the stress, so he found the best solution was to flee and spare heartbreak if Tony died. Tom and Thor were constants through the whole recovery time, thank the gods above for their support.

Anthony lingered only a moment longer in the doorway, hesitating as if Loki were about to spring back into life and reappear, hugging him and holding him like he always did, but he was met with silence.

So once again, he shut the door, and went to bed alone.


	3. Chapter 2 - Side Effects Include

Everything hurt.

He didn't know why, but he could barely move.

He caught the glimpse of long red hair once again before something smacked into his face, sending him spiraling into darkness.

.::.

Then there were voices. They were muffled and faint, but Loki's ears picked them up as he drifted in subconsciousness.

"Potter? He..."

"I think s..."

"Loki... drunk..."

"Leaky Cauldron..."

His eyes opened into slits, only to immediately wince. The light from the windows was nearly blinding, causing the pounding and burning sensation in his forehead to increase.

Seconds later, the light vanished, the curtains being quickly drawn and making the brightness fade. A cool towel was placed over his forehead. He grunted in momentary relief, the throbbing boiling down, if only for a little while.

"Hey Lokes," Anthony's voice murmured from nearby. Loki groaned, his eyes opening again slightly, but found his vision still very unfocused.

"Mhm...where am I?" Loki mumbled, shuddering a bit as he tried to focus in on his surroundings.

"Nat brought you home," Anthony said. Loki swallowed, hearing the pain in his boyfriend's tone.

"Nat?" he echoed, a bit confused, "when did..."

"Do you really not remember what happened?" Natasha arrived, interrupting the conversation.

Loki shook his head, his nostrils flaring for a moment as the sickening feeling of dread settled in his stomach. Had he done something wrong? Why couldn't he remember? Why did Natasha bring him home-and why had he left it in the first place?

Natasha exchanged a worried glance with Anthony. Loki's eyes widened in panic, and he shifted, attempting to sit up, only to slump back down when his elbows gave in on him.

"What...what happened? What aren't you telling me!? Anthony!" Loki hated how he sounded like a small child, a pout puckering onto his lips.

With a sigh, Natasha crossed over, allowing Anthony some space to look out the windows and calm himself. Loki felt concern and inner confusion boil under his skin.

"You see-last night you went to the Leaky Cauldron," Natasha began, "and I don't know all the details-I didn't come until much later...but something happened between you and Lily Potter."

Loki's eyebrows raised. Lily Potter...she had only just finished Hogwarts the year before, what could she possibly have been doing at the Leaky Cauldron? And wasn't she married to James Potter?

"Wha-"

"Again, I don't know the precise details!" Natasha quickly interjected, "I came a few hours later, when Anthony contacted me out of concern. I tracked you down, and James Potter showed up. That's when things went down... You and Lily were both absolutely delirious and drunk, I had to drag you the hell out of there before James could skin you alive."

Loki opened his mouth to say more, but the pain in his head returned. He let out a slight gasp as the damp towel returned to his forehead, everything growing unfocused and blurry. It was only a matter of minutes before once again, the shadows began to creep into the corners of his vision, all the problems melting away as he drifted again into a disturbed slumber.

.::.

Anthony shook his head, rubbing his temples with a mix of agitation and worry.

"Did you have to put another sleeping spell on him? Won't he get pissed off later, c'mon Nat, you know Lokes..." he groaned, his eyes lingering on how fragile Loki looked.

Loki's face, once pale and unblemished, was crisscrossed in cuts and bruises, marking his skin in horrendous shades of purple and blue. He grimaced, brushing away some of the dark strands of hair that were fallen over the cool towel over Loki's forehead.

"Well, what else would you have suggested? Tony, he slept with Lily. I don't think he even knew what he was doing, hell-she didn't even know what she was doing! He was completely inebrieated!" Natasha recoiled angrily, "Clint had to hold back James before he killed could stab Loki again! I know Loki even better than you think, he's my best friend... He wouldn't have done what he had if he wasn't completely sober."

Tony was trembling with griook a seat beside Loki's bedside, taking his boyfriend's clammy, cold hand into his own. He was upset with Loki for what he had done, and in utter disbelief on that note, but at the same time very frightened for Loki's life. James Potter was known for his devotion and possessiveness of his wife. If both Lily and Loki had been as intoxicated as Natasha suggested, then they wouldn't have known, nor remembered what they had done.

Tony didn't hear Natasha leave, nor did he hear Tom replace her in the room, his face a mask of both disappointment and scorn.

"Why do you keep letting him back in your life like this?" Tom stated, his eyes narrow. Tony scowled, interlacing his fingers with Loki's own, feeling how limp and almost lifeless his boyfriend was.

"Tom...you know he was drunk. He didn't-"

"He was completely sober, I recall, when he walked out again last night," Tom responded, a challenging glint in his pale green eyes.

Tony huffed, his gaze overlooking Loki again, wondering how much of the conversation he could actually hear.

"This wouldn't be the first time he's left you for one of his 'trips'...who knows how many other lovers he's taken in your absense?" Tom continued onwards with a bit of spite.

"If he leaves, it's because you always insult him and victimize him when I'm around! If I recall," Tony spat, mocking in his last words, "you wouldn't even allow him to kiss me last night! Lokes and I have been dating for three years... He wouldn't have cheated if he was sober, last night was an accident. Give him a break." Tony felt his own heart breaking a bit at his own words, but he forced himself not to show his inner pain.

Glaring just a tad at the impudence of Tony, Tom replied. "I will have you know Anthony, that I do not trust him for very good reasons. You seem to forget that I was the one who lived with him for years, before you even got the courage to say hi."

Tony's eyes fell, he swallowed hard in the back of his throat. It was true. Loki and Tom had both been Slytherins, sharing the same dorm. Loki had been notoriously known around Hogwarts as the "Liesmith" and "Silvertongue" and yet Tony had still pursued him.

"You are forgetting when you both used to be friends," Tony murmured dully, "remember that? Because I surely do. I was envious and jealous, because you managed to be friends with him somehow. You never told me, Tom... When did that friendship end? Why-was it because Loki became interested in me?"

"It never was a 'friendship' as you call it," Tom sneered, "No, it was a agreement. One that he found very easy to break, Mutiple times."

"What kind of agreement, Tom?" Tony demanded bitterly.

"An agreement to be civil, Anthony, an agreement that he would treat you with respect. Never harm you." Tom said, equally as bitter.

Tony rolled his eyes, already fed up with Tom and his arrogance.

"If you cannot accept that I love Loki, and he loves me in return, then leave! Leave us alone!" he snapped at last.

"If you wish for me to go Anthony I will, just remember this. I to once fell for someone and they hurt me very deeply, I do not wish for you to go through that." Tom abruptly turned and left.

Tony stared at the empty hall for several minutes after Tom had vanished in a cloak of shadows, his hazel eyes once blazing with rage now drenched with empty sadness. He would sit and wait...wait for Loki to wake up, wait to forget this all happened, to start over, to be happy...

But happiness never came.

.::.

Tom sighed slowly feeling bad for making Anthony so mad, he desperately hoped that this hadn't ruined his and Anthony's relationship more than it already was.

Natasha's blue eyes glinted, acknowledging Tom as he neared.

"I've located the Tesseract," she stated simply.

Tom nodded.

"Where is it?" he asked plainly, eyebrows furrowed.

"This is gonna sound like a really awful coincidence...but Dumbledore has put it into the 'protection' of the Potter's."


	4. Chapter 3 - Shadows of the Past

_Loki took long strides down the Slytherin hallways, past all the dorms and the shadowed walls. Though he was thoroughly irritated, his face was a blank mask. He was a master at concealing his emotions, his feelings were thrown behind him in his shadow. He had learned to not show any weakness at a young age. Even now, the pain rang clearly in his ears._

"You ungrateful bastard! You need to grow up-be more like Thor!"

_More like Thor, always about Thor! That's how it always was. Even before he learned... He was adopted. Not even just adopted, the son of Laufey. The Jotun Mafia boss. Notorious for their riots, murders, and pillaging of the wizarding world. _

"You're no better than him-_Laufeyson_."

_Loki harbored no love for his adoptive father, Odin Borsson. He wanted so badly, to mold Loki to be like Thor. The golden son, perfect, flawless...Thor was absolutely everything Loki was not. Charming, muscular, good-looking, brave. What was there left for Loki? Lean, meek, shy, bitter...a shell of whatever dignity had left. _

"Laufeyson."

_Gritting his teeth, Loki pushed the door open without warning, letting it swing open. He glanced around the dorm casually, before his eyes locked with the one he'd been searching for-Tom Riddle. _

_"We need to talk, Riddle." Loki stated simply, his knuckles nearly turning white as he gripped his textbooks, still firmly set in his hands._

_Without looking up from his book Tom replied, "What is it we need to discuss Loki?"_

_Loki's gaze did not wander, not even as the spell slipped from his fingers, shutting the door behind him and creating a soundproof barrier. He'd prefer if Anthony did not stumble upon their discussion._

_"Whom do you think? I wish to speak about Anthony." Loki mused._

_Finally looking up at the raven-haired Slytherin, Tom narrowed his eyes. _

_"What about Anthony?"_

_Loki rolled his eyes._

_"You are well aware that Anthony and I are in a relationship. I want to come to an agreement, where you aren't trying to..." Loki paused, "...sabotage, persay, our meetings. I in return will ensure you have enough time spent with your brother, and allow you to supervise most of our 'dates', as Anthony calls them."_

_Closing the potions textbook in his lap and setting it gently onto his nightstand, Tom stood and walked closer to the taller wizard. _

_"I do not wish to 'sabotage' your dates, as you suggested. No... I would not do that to Anthony, I want him to be happy. However you know nothing of him, why should I be content with you dating him?" Tom sneered unpleased with Loki's demeanor._

_Loki raised an eyebrow, swallowing hard in the back of his throat. _

_"You don't know a bit about me, you don't know the hellish life I've lived," Loki retorted, "If you're suggesting I would harm Anthony-"_

_"I am suggesting no such thing," Tom interjected, his voice raising. "I am suggesting that I don't trust you, and I most certainly do not like you. Once again I am saying that you know nothing about my brother, about the hell he lived, the hell he endured." _

_Tom turned abruptly and went back to his desk, his heels clicking against the hard floor with each step._

_Loki huffed, narrowing his jade eyes._

_"I don't quite believe you understand what I'm saying, Riddle. Sure, sure, you're right, I don't know much of Anthony's past. I've recognized it's a touchy subject, so of course, I didn't ask him. I care about him as deeply as yourself!" he snarled, his books dropping with a solemn THUD to the ground before his feet._

_Tom spun back to face Loki, looking into his vividly green eyes to make sure the point was evident. _

_"Then you should realize something Odinson, there must be a reason it is such a touchy subject, and you should recognize that would be why I am so damn protective of him." By the time Tom had finished his statement, his eyes were starting to shift to a crimson from his normally dark green color._

_Loki shook his head, taking a step back. His shoulders were shaking, seething in a mix of grief and anger._

_"You act as though no one else can care for Anthony! At least he has family who cares for him," he snarled, "Thor isn't even my brother! I was a science experiment, a mutation...I was supposed to be a revolutionary hybrid, a weapon to destroy all wizards, all muggles, everything..."_

_He shook his head, his hands moving to his mouth to keep his sobs from coming loose. Now he'd truly done it. He'd spilled out the horrible truth. He was a monster, even in his mind, Loki could not deny the unbearable reality._

_"Then you should realize how horrible a place the world can be. Tony has seen many of those horrors." Tom said his tone becoming a tad nicer. _

_"As his brother it is my job to see that he does not get hurt, I have already failed him Loki, I will not do so again. Consider this my blessing, just remember should you hurt him, well you will be six feet under… if they can find all the pieces." _

_Loki nodded, his whole mind feeling numb._

_"I promise, no harm will come to Anthony, but you must also make me a promise." Loki murmured._

_"And what is this promise you wish me to make?" Tom said, his voice suggesting mild interest._

_Loki cleared his throat, his body still visibly trembling._

_"Don't tell Anthony. Don't tell him what I am...no, only...only if the relationship isn't to be, I want you to tell him for me. Agreed?"_

_"I will agree to this, but know now that is the cowards way out in my books." Tom growled, clearly unimpressed._

_Loki nodded once more, his gaze lowering._

_"I shall see you in Potion's class then, Riddle."_

_Tom looked down to his feet, realizing that Loki had completely forgotten his books in his depressive scramble to leave._

_This was only the beginning._

.::.

Loki stared blankly at his bedroom ceiling, his eyes still lifeless, his lips untouched, skinny, depressed...

Haunted.

There was a shadow about him, a shadow Tony had never seen in Loki before. Grief, self-loathing... those were things Tony had seen before, and had helped Loki through. This time is was different.

He missed that laugh, the tease, the jokes. Even when Tony peered in the doorway to check on his mischievous boyfriend, Loki didn't even look up. The bright spark in his eyes, that twinkle that always pierced through the veil of emerald when he looked at Tony, would not appear.

Even so, Tony knew in his heart, that Loki had cheated on him. Whether or not he had done it whilst intoxicated did not hide the fact it happened. And even though Tony knew he should be feeling great hurt, he saw it in Loki's expression every day, it was hurting the raven-haired wizard even more.

He gently slid through the doorway, a cup of warm tea in his hand-Earl Grey with a dash of honey, Loki's absolute favorite-and made his way towards the bed.

It seemed for the first time in days, Loki was asleep. Though Tony could still see his eyes flickering underneath the shadowy eyelids, his fingers twitching as if out of his control, his mouth mumbling something.

"No...no I don't wanna...please don't...no, no, no..." Tony could barely make out Loki's slurred words. In fact, he had barely recognized his own voice, having barely heard it in weeks, maybe even months, that Loki had secluded himself to his private quarters.

He placed the little green mug on the table nearby, his hand gently touching Loki's forehead.

"Hey! Hey, wake up! Loki!" Tony cooed, a bit frantic. It didn't seem to be working that well, for Loki's rampant words turned into cries, his whole body shaking in a fit of recoil against his nightmares.

"I'm not...no, I'm not a freak! I'm not a mutant... Leave me alone!" he shrieked. Tony nearly fell backwards at the ferocity of the outburst, and he placed his hand on Loki's clothed shoulder now shaking him gently.

"Loki! Stop it, it's a dream! Not real!" Tony yelled overtop of his boyfriend's near delirious screaming.

That's when the pain occured. Something shockingly cold, though not totally freezing, spread to his palm and coursed through his hands. Tony jerked back, startled, but noticed Loki had calmed down. In fact, he was awake. Except Tony wasn't looking at the normal irises of green. He was looking at crimson.

A blueish shade faded from Loki's face-for a brief moment, Tony thought he saw markings like that of a...a Jotun, a creature much like a wizard or sorceror who lived in tribes remote from all society-near cold climates. They had rampaged all throughout Norway and Sweden, Tony had heard several years ago, but most of the cult's leaders were imprisoned in Azkaban.

"...Loki, are you a-" Tony began to ask, feeling sick to his stomach.

Loki's eyes were welling with tears now, he shook his head.

"Get out." he snarled.

Tony's lower lip turned into a defiant pout.

"I need to talk to you...why won't you tell me what's wrong?" Tony murmured, his only thoughts focusing on his concern for Loki.

Loki shook his head again, burying his face in his hands.

"GET OUT! YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO SEE!" his screech was muffled into his hands, his shoulders shaking violently with each shuddering sob.

Tony hesitated for a moment, lingering, an arm reaching out towards Loki. His soul was screaming to help him, but Tony's mind said otherwise.

_'He cheated with Lily,' _he reminded himself sadly,_ 'but why...why do I still have feelings for him?'_

He shook his head, pushing the tea a little closer to Loki's bedside. He was tempted to take his hands away from his face, kiss each fingertip and then both of his cheeks and wipe all the tears and hurt away-like he used to-but he knew now was the wrong time. Loki was trapped-trapped in his guilt, trapped in the horrors of his past...trapped and confused, not knowing who he was.

Tony swallowed hard, knowing exactly where he had to go now. There was only one person who could possibly save his relationship with Loki, someone who had answers and knew Loki's past very well.

He would have to pay his brother a visit.


	5. Chapter 4 - Forgive and Forget

Tony paused for a moment, hesitating in the doorway. It'd been a while since he had actually come to Tom's own home. It was dark, dismal. It reminded Tony of the orphanage, and it gave him the chills.

"Tommy?" he called. When he sensed the nervousness in his own voice, he cleared his throat, attempting to sound more confident.

"Tommy boy, hey, it's me! Your little bro! Y'remember? Yeah, well I'm here. Listen, I need to talk to you. So uh, please come out?"

Casting a quick glamor to hide the bags beneath his eyes, Tom finally swallowed down his nerves, to respond.

"I'm in the library, Come on in, Anthony and let's talk." Tom said, masking his exhaustion.

_'Could this be Anthony coming to tell me he doesn't want me as his brother anymore?'_ Tom thought, glancing at the picture albums spread around.

Tony had to pick up his feet to keep himself from sulkily dragging them along, his eyes wide and alert in the shadows of the halls, heavy black drapes covering most of the paintings and photographs-memories that Tom probably wanted to forget.

He lingered a moment more, staring at the drapes, but quickly moved on. The orphanage had black drapes over all the sleeping quarters.

He didn't remember when he had come to the wizarding orphanage. He had to have been a baby. Tony hadn't a single last name to trace him by, a simple tag tied with a loose ribbon around his little wrist.

_"Anthony Edward ..." _It had read. The last part had been utterly wiped out by the rain... the lithe scrap of parchment written poorly in ink. He had a last name. He had a familial tie somewhere, but to whom? He was not sure. From the time he could walk, he took after Tom. Even copied his last name-in a desperate attempt to belong. Anthony Edward Riddle. It had a nice ring to it. Even if the whole thing was a fraud-Tony had only wanted to be loved, protected, cherished. Belong.

He stepped into the library at last, staring at the masses of books. Tom was hunched over his desk, writing some gibberish of sorts onto parchment, pausing every few seconds to dip his quill back into the thick, oozing black ink jar.

Tony cleared his throat again, a bit louder to draw Tom's attention to him. Once he met those stormy dark eyes, Tony looked immediately away, feeling the tension of the room. Afterall, the last time Tony had seen him, he had told him to leave in a heartbroken, flustered attempt to find reasoning and reconnect the shards of he and Loki's abruptly shattered relationship.

"Uh. Hey." Tony began awkwardly, brushing a hand through his thick brunette hair.

"Hello Tony, please have a seat. I was just finishing up." Tom lied, glad he had cast up the illusions of different books other that the picture albums that were brimming with pleasant memories.

Tony nodded, shuffling to a wooden chair and sitting himself down. He glanced at Tom, then at his hands.

"Listen Tom. I know, things between you and Lokes were well...never too good. But please hear me out. You're right, I'll admit it, you know more about him than I do. But...something's, well, really hella screwed up, and I don't know what to do. He changed. I saw it with my own eyes-it wasn't normal whatsoever. He turned...well he looked..." Tony found himself beginning to stammer. What had he seen? Could it have been an illusion, cast up by Loki's nightmarish subconscious, or very much so real, so real that Loki was afraid to tell him the unmistakable truth?

Realizing that the heart of their problem would wait for another day, Tom decided to start on damage control and fulfill a promise made years ago.

"Calm down and tell me exactly what happened, I will help you and tell you what you need to know."

Tony's eyes were blown wide for a moment as he recollected the events from only merely an hour before, then finally, with a sigh, began.

"Well, you know it's been months now since the shit with the Potters happened. I mean, I thought about it for a long time. I guess, well, I'm not so angry with him anymore. He seemed to be harming himself more than anything. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't drink, he wouldn't move. He looked so...well, dead. Empty. And I hated seeing him do that to himself. I probably shoulda told Thor about what was going on, but Loki and his bro don't get along all the time, y'know? Didn't want to throw more snakes into the pit. I went to check on him earlier, and he was asleep. Having nightmares. I tried to wake him up, but then..." Tony trailed off, scowling. He was still very confused.

"That's when he changed. This cold sensation filled my hand, and his eyes turned red. It was like I wasn't looking at Loki. I really thought for a moment, something had murdered him and taken his place or something...but it was him... It was almost...Jotun." he murmured, his voice falling flat, lifeless. The last word came out barely a whisper, shaking and wavering.

Tom hated to see Tony like this and knew what he was about to say could have two possible effects: either Tony would get pissed at him for not telling him sooner or Tony would fall further into this abyss of depression that he had ensared himself in.

"Tony, a long time ago I made a promise to Loki, that should anything in the nature of an event like such, tell you his secrets. Where to begin?" Tom groaned before finally beginning, rubbing his temples tiredly. "You're right, on one end. He is a Jotun. Though not fully. You might have heard of his...father. Laufey."

Tony's eyes jerked to Tom's, in both alarm and startle. Laufey was a feared Jotun cult leader, his malicious mission to destroy all life forms who opposed and denied serving him as their king.

Tom continued, before Tony could interrupt, "He was created, not born. Through magic means, through the Tesseract. He was experimented with, a mere spawn. He was meant to be a machine, to murder and conquer. But it went wrong. He was incredibly tiny, a runt, compared to the other Jotuns. Laufey did all sorts of experiments to enhance him, to fix and warp him into his slave...unspeakable tortures, he didn't share with me the extent of abuse he underwent. Of course, when Loki was about three, Odin Borsson, his adoptive father, found him cast out and left to die, and took him in."

Tony swallowed hard now. He felt sick to his stomach, his limbs turned to absolute mush. Why didn't Loki tell him any of this? Why, for the three whole years they had been together, did Loki not approach him once, tell him he wasn't even a pureblood?

He parted his lips to speak, but his throat felt twisted and dry, knots of grief burning his neck, his breathing fastidious and difficult. His mind was screaming, screaming at Loki for not telling him, screaming at Tom for hiding the truth-and god knows what else-, screaming at himself, for having been so hard on Loki, and those damn Potters for intervening into his relationship.

Tony stood up abruptly.

"I have to go. Have to...have to make sure he hasn't tried to hurt himself." Tony slurred out, rushing for the door and stumbling his way out. He didn't even look back, afraid his older brother would see his tears, his cowardice and stupidity. He had to fix this, before it was too late.

Seeing Tony rush off in such haste made Tom worry about his younger sibling in a way he hadn't in years. He lingered for a moment, contemplating whether or not to go after him and ensure everything went alright between him and Loki, but quickly changed his mind. He removed his glamour, slumping quietly back into his seat.

Research on the Tesseract was hard. Incredibly difficult, in fact. Tom groaned once again, rubbing his forehead with his boney fingertips in sheer agitation. He had much work to do, if he were to get this right.

.::.

"Loki!" Tony called worriedly as he rushed up the stairs, his feet clattering reckessly against the wooden floorboards. He nearly tripped, but caught himself before hand, straightening himself back up and rushing for the white wooden door.

He grasped the brass handle, feeling that dreadful chill again. It was almost freezing to the touch, the door itself no different as Tony ran his hand across it. Distraught, he forced the door open...

Loki was asleep, reverted back to his pale, sickly appearance, barely noticable against the contrasting shadows of the expansive room. Tony sighed, shaking his head, and took a step towards the green-sheeted bed.

"Don't do this, Lokes. No illusions." Tony pleaded. He knew Loki better than this-he wouldn't fall asleep after such emotional times.

At his command, the illusion faded in a dim green light. Loki was sitting up, his knees drawn up to his frail chest, arms tucked around them tightly. He was visibly trembling, those startling, sharp eyes watching Tony's every move.

Once again he was in the form of a Jotun, his skin tinged with the pigment of a dark shade of cobalt, odd grooves and marking doting across his face and hands. It was an oddity to see, with the green nightshirt and black sweatpants being oddly contrasting.

The pupils were a rich crimson. The whites of his eyes were replaced with the color of fresh blood, and it was absolutely eerie to look at.

"Now you see me, Anthony." came Loki's hoarse response. His voice was cracking, raw and sore. He must've been crying, Anthony could tell by the swollen appearance of his eyelids.

Tony gave no response, beginning to move forward although shyly, his shoft brown eyes showing nothing but sadness and...what was the other emotion? Loki couldn't read it exactly.

He did not expect Tony to climb onto the creaky old bed, crawling his way over to Loki, who looked away briefly before burying his face into his knees.

Tony at last sighed, wrapping his arms around Loki, holding him tight and close, and breathed in the familiar scent he had missed so dearly for several months.

He trailed his hands through those raven locks, murmuring nonsensical things about love and forgiveness, and at last, Loki broke down, bawling feverishly as the Jotun appearance faded away, leaving him shivering and sobbing into Tony's arms, allowing himself to hug him back.

Tony smiled tearily, willing himself to cry with him.

He had his Loki back. He had his boyfriend back, from whatever hell he had banished himself to, and he would never, ever let him go again...

_If only fate were that kind._


	6. Chapter 5 - Beginning of the End

Loki shifted, still wide awake in bed. Tony's arm was slung around his chest, the shorter man curled against him like a cat.

He nimbly pulled Tony's arm off of his chest. He nearly panicked, as Tony stirred briefly for a moment, his unconscious hand fumbling for the dull warmth that Loki had been providing. Thinking quickly, he took his pillow, shoving it under Tony's limb, effectively keeping Tony unconscious.

Loki had somewhere to be-someone to talk to. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, with the click of his fingers, changing his outfit into something sleeker, and dark as the night itself.

He needed to speak with Tom.

.::.

Loki arrived at the small home in the desolate lost woods, his jade eyes flickering about, ensuring he wasn't being followed. He and Tony had finally been back together for at least three months-he did not need his boyfriend to discover he had broken his oath to sneak out and speak with Tom.

In fact, he wasn't even sure why he was here. His trusted owl, Farbauti, had flown in, carrying a letter from Tom. All it had said was:

"We need to talk. It's an emergency. -Tom"

Loki was a bit wary of Tom ever since their fallout, but if it was an emergency, and especially if it somehow involved the safety of Tony, Loki would not hesitate to make his way to Tom's home to find the source of the issue and eliminate it.

When he entered, it was absolutely empty. 'Library, no doubt,' Loki immediately thought. He cast a final glance over his shoulder, before stalking along the twisted and battered hallways that Tom dwelled in.

"I came, like you asked!" Loki called into the shadows. He was a bit irritated, he was tired and wanted sleep, but knew Tom would not wait for such a matter.

He trailed along, pushing open the familiar hidden passageway. Down the depths of stairs he descended, at last coming upon the circular library, stuffed with knowledgeable books...about everything, including dark magic.

"We found the tesseract, unfortunately the Potters have it." Tom said.

Loki raised both his eyebrows, then they fell flat into a scowl.

"And whom entrusted them with it? Do they even know what the exposure will do to them? It will warp them, drive them to madness!" Loki exclaimed, sincerely shocked. He found himself locked in a gaze with Tom, recognizing the dark, shadowy bags under his eyes. Loki shook his head sadly.

"Tom, are you getting any rest with this incident?"

"It matters not, what matters is that the Potters were entrusted with it by Dumbledore. The worst part is they are keeping it in young Harrisons room…" Tom trailed off, knowing that Loki would not like the idea of it being by a child.

Loki paused.

"Harrison? They have a child...and they're keeping the Tesseract by him!?" Loki shrieked, his knuckles turning absolutely white.

Tom nodded, suppressing a yawn. He could sleep later when the business at hand was done.

"Why...how old is he? How long has this Harrison been exposed?" Loki continued, now pacing frantically back and forth. He cared not if this was a Potter, the thought that a child was so close to the weapon that brought him into existence made his skin crawl.

"The boy is but a year old, the good news is that he has only been exposed for a couple of weeks." Tom muttered.

Loki glanced at Tom once more, suddenly a pit of dread forming in his gut.

"How old?" he echoed hoarsely, not believing or trusting his own ears.

"One." Tom stated knowing Loki had started to figure out what he had a while ago.

Pure horror struck Loki at once, overwhelming emotions flooding his mind and showing clearly on his face.

"Oh gods..." Loki cried, burying his face into his hands. He shook his head again, trying to will himself not to show tears. He had really done it this time, hadn't he? He'd blown it big time...and he had just gotten comfortable with Tony again...

"We have to do something," Loki stumbled over his own words, "I won't take the...my...the child, but we will have to destroy the Tesseract."

"We should go as soon as possible, I managed to find a spell to destroy it. Well more like i heavily modified it…" Tom trailed off seeing Loki had tuned out after his first few words.

Loki swallowed, his eyes shifting from the floor and back to Tom.

"When do we start?"

.::.

Tom and Loki slunk in the shadows, faces completely shrouded by black cloaks, up to the Potters' residence.

"This is the place, Now all we need to do is go in and destroy it, nothing else you hear me Loki?" Tom said knowing that Loki may try and take the kid when he saw them, despite what he said earlier.

Loki nodded, still a bit dazed.

"What if we're caught, or it backfires, or-"

"Nothing bad will happen." Tom cut him off.

Even so, Loki felt a bit wary at the prospect of intruding into this home, especially with the Tesseract inside.

"Tom, I'm quite serious," Loki nervously yammered, "The Tesseract...you won't be touching it to destroy it, right? If that thing touches your skin..." He shuddered, trailing off in a fit of unwanted memories.

"No I won't be touching it, all I must do is cast a spell. You are here because if the spell backfires you need to cast the shield charm." Tom said trying to calm the fears of the raven haired man.

Loki sighed, bowing his head in submission.

"Well here goes nothing...the end of the line," he murmured.

Tom sighed at Lokis wariness, but continued on to the house, slinking up the path and to the door. Loki lumbered behind him, his thin shoulders shaking slightly as they made their way up the porch.

"The spell will work, right?" Loki uneasily chided once again.

"Yes." Tom said, irritated and sleep deprived.

With one final stare, Loki overlooked Tom again, somehow feeling, maybe knowing, that this would not be a well received predicament from the Potters. He closed his eyes briefly, thinking of Tony. How disappointed he would be to learn the sins he and Tom were about to commit...and if neither of them made it out alive without saying goodbye...

No, it had to work. It had to. He would get home to Tony, and all of this would be forgotten and over.

He cast his charms, making the door silently unlock itself, and gestured for Tom to go first, additionally allowing his mischievous magic to track the Tesseract.

Carefully opening the door, Tom strolled in and took a look... All around he saw pictures of the family hanging. He really hoped nothing went wrong.

It was very quiet in the house, Loki noted. Almost too quiet.

"Tom, I think we're being watched," Loki whispered as low as possible.

"All the more reason to hurry up and get home." Tom whispered back, thinking Loki was just being paranoid.

Slinking further into the house Tom headed towards the stairs heading to the second floor. Natasha had told him that Harrison's room was there.

Loki nearly leapt out of his skin when the air suddenly turning freezing cold. He winced, pulling his hood closer over his thick head of black hairs.

"Tom," he insisted now, trembling out of sheer nerves, "this is a bad idea, we need to go back. Anthony will be worried sick..."

"That is why we must get this done quickly, so you may return to Anthony."

Loki nodded again, as they finally reached the last step. Tom moved to continue walking, but Loki suddenly grabbed his shoulder, dragging him backwards into a corner. Only less than a second later a spell wizzed past them, just out of earshot, and was left a sizzling black hole in the wall.

"Damn..." Loki spat under his breath, "we've been sabotaged."

Tom growled lightly, "Son of a bitch..." He was tired and just wanted to get this task completed, why did others have to interfere?

Loki spun around, his fingers and lips moving quickly as he almost silently enchanted a spell, throwing their unexpected attacker to the ground, and gave Tom room to finish this unknown wizard off.

"He's all yours!" Loki snarled, stepping aside hastily.

Glancing down at the very limp, unmoving body, Tom recognized him at an instant as James Potter. Honestly why the hell did James have to meddle in his affairs? Now he had to kill him-something he was not looking forward to.

One quick Avada later, they went on their way. Loki queasily stepped over the remains of James Potter, once again the weight of guilt laying on him and making him feel terribly ill.

_'We killed him. My son's own father, whether I liked him or not, we killed him.' _He nibbled on the base of his cheek, forcing the thought away.

The bedroom suddenly became very violent as soon as they stepped into the door. Loki jerked to a halt, his eyes not laying upon Lily, or even Harrison, but immediately to the Tesseract. He was glued to the spot in fear.

The cosmic cube, its origins long unknown, sat only feet away, on a shelf. Right above Harrison's cradle.

Loki's eyes widened, and he stepped aside once again to make room for Tom. There was no time to be wasted. Lily was off to the side, but the moment she saw Tom raise his wand, she was instantly drenched in fear and horribly wrong assumptions.

Loki didn't even get a chance to stop her-it _just happened_-and he knew why she did it-but he still shrieked-he didn't love her at all but then she _jumped_-

Darkness consumed them.


	7. Chapter 6 - Til The End of the Line

_The envelope was placed into his violently trembling hands. Tony held onto it like a lifeline, closing his eyes._

_Dumbledore's gaze did not leave his, almost emotionless._

_"Enclosed is the will of your birth parents, Maria and Howard Stark. I hope in some way, the closure surrounding the former mystery of your family tree will help you cope with your grief." Dumbledore stated. Tony nodded._

_"Thank you, Headmaster." Tony replied back, his voice low, dead._

.::.

Tony stood not too far from Frigga and Odin, for the first time in almost two since he had last spent Thanksgiving over at their place. He could remember the week in a ever changing tide of either bitterness or fondness.

Odin had his hand resting on Tony's shoulder. Respectfully...almost fatherly.

_'He could've been my father-in-law,' _he thought, his heart aching. When Odin had been first introduced to Tony, well that hadn't quite blown over well. It took a while, a lot of grudges were eventually forgiven and Tony became a regular visitor along with Loki to the Odinsons' summer home-particularly because of Loki's fondness for Frigga, his adoptive mother.

From what had once been many heartfelt conversations and laughter between Tony and his newfound family in the Odinsons was now utterly silent.

Because Thor was in _Azkaban_.

And Loki and Tom were _dead_.

.::.

_"They attacked the Potter household," Dumbledore had explained, his brows twitching ever so slightly, "Tom went on to attempt to assassinate their young son, Harrison, but his mother intervened, killing the both of them. We don't quite understand how Loki survived, but he took the child, and the Tesseract, and ran. He deposited the boy with Thor, who attempted to hide him. Loki refused to surrender the Tesseract-"_

_"Stop!" Tony snapped, tears dribbling down his face. "Loki... I know him, he's not like that! He'd never...he's..."_

_"Gone. I'm sorry, Anthony." Dumbledore said, tone not faltering once._

.::.

Tony closed his eyes, remembering how Dumbledore had described Loki and Tom at death.

_"There was nothing left of your brother or partner to collect. Their bodies disintegrated into nothing. And no one is to visit the older Odinson while he serves his time."_

Tony glanced towards Frigga, who was wiping away her quiet tears, her usually bright and cheery face now covered with a black lace veil, and took her hand gently, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. It was the least he could do to comfort her.

"I'm sorry." he murmured, eyes casting downwards as he fought away his own horrid tears.

Odin sighed from beside him, shaking his weary head, his eyelids fluttering shut as he took in a shaky breath.

"I was looking forward to having you as a son, Anthony Stark," Odin muttered, acknowledging Tony's recent surname, "Loki was always a troubled boy, he always got himself into messy relationships..."

Tony nodded. Thor had told him, about Loki's former boyfriend in Norway. Svadilfari had been his name, he had been absolutely charming when they had first became friends, but things quickly changed from a seemingly harmless date turned into something much more dark, so deep and disturbing Loki couldn't bring himself to talk to anyone for weeks. The story Loki had stated about how he had supposedly "burned down" the wizarding school there had been a lie, his family moved to protect him.

"I didn't hear him slip out," Tony said, his voice greased madly with grief, "I didn't know he was even in communication with Tom anyore, or the Potters..."

He trailed off, swallowing down the bile rising in his throat and glanced back to the little altar in memory of both Tom and Loki, before he broke away, clenching his fists and taking a step back.

Then another step. And another. No one called back after him, no one tried to stop him.

The love of his life and his brother were both dead. The grief was too much.

The moment he got out of the small building, Tony Stark screamed it all out.

.::.

The pair of electric blue eyes glimmered through the dark, crackling and sizzling, veins as icy as those two orbs tracing his face, and to his wrists and hands.

He was shaking. He couldn't think straight, not since it had affected him. Not since he was chained here, left here to die.

He shuddered again, his tongue desperately pressing against his tightly sewn lips, nostrils flaring as once again he fought to have his mouth open and free.

The throbbing started again, something being pressed against each of his temples, a burning sensation. If he could scream, he would've, but nothing was coming through. He only had his thoughts, his memories that were slowly slipping away one by one, each time that voice came back, so familiar, so haunting.

'Anthony, Anthony Riddle, I know Anthony. Where is Anthony? I want Anthony...Anthony!' was what his mind was shrieking rampantly.

A rough hand grabbed his jaw, bringing him to stare at a vaguely familiar figure, who only grinned in response.

"Did you miss me, spawn?" it boomed.

The sharp pain returned, white flashing across his eyes, before he fell limp, the power of the Tesseract still infecting his brain.

'Anthony...who is Anthony?'


	8. Chapter 7 - He Is Risen

"_Anthony_! Help me!"

That voice haunted his every move as he roamed in the vast darkness, that desperate, frightened voice penetrating the shadows of silence and echoing into nothingness.

"No more! Please, father I'll do better...I'll-_ANTHONY_!"

He felt the panic settle in, rattling in his bones, his heartbeat pounding in his chest.

_'This isn't real it's just a nightmare it's always a dream he's dead he's just a memory no no no'_

"Don't leave me here alone... Anthony, he's coming back I'm scared please save me please-NO!" The voice shrieked out his last word. Tony clamped his hands over his ears, his eyes squeezing shut, wincing. Goosebumps rose in his arms. He released his ears, blinking to find himself...

In an apartment. It had to be several years before, for the first figure to catch Tony's eye was Loki, with shorter locks of raven hair flicking just barely down his neck. He was in loose black jacket, his green eyes full of anger.

"If you are going to behave in that manner, fine, I'm leaving." Loki snapped, his hands clenching into fists. Tony didn't recognize the second man, who looked maybe a year or two older than Loki, his long brunette hair tied into a ponytail, stormy brown eyes narrowed in rage as he grabbed Loki's shoulder.

"You don't get to just leave, Princess," he boomed. Loki shoved his shovel-like hand away, a scoff of outrage escaping his lips.

"Don't touch me, Svad. You screwed me over big time. Don't even think about talking to me again after this!"

Svad...Svad. Tony recognized the name and swallowed hard. He attempted to open his mouth, trying to object, trying to move- but his limbs felt like hardened glue, forcing him silent and still, making him view the unfolding scene.

Loki slapped Svadilfari, his face contorted in a mixture of grief and hurt.

That was when it all changed. Svadilfari grew eerily calm, both fallen extremely silent.

And then everything fell apart.

Tony had wondered how truly damaged Loki had been by Svadilfari's abuse. He had never asked, for he knew it to be a touchy subject for Loki.

But this was extreme.

"You dare disrespect me! I _own_ you!"

He saw Svadilfari's fist, watched it swing, Loki's eyes widened right before it collided with his cheek, sending him smack against the wall, his arms flying outwards to defend himself to no avail. Svadilfari grabbed the stunned Loki by the waist, dragging and hoisting him over his shoulder in a firm hold.

Loki screamed, flailing his limbs, kicking and banging his fists as hard as he could, but Svad held on, carrying him towards the lone bedroom...

"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!" Loki screeched, being flung onto the mattress, hands quickly being pinned above his head by some sort of restraint.

Tony was shaking now, watching as Svadilfari brutally hit him again and again until Loki could no longer utter another curse, quieting him into fearful whimpers.

The image of Loki's horrified face burned into Tony's mind, right before he was spiraling into another vision, this time in a different room.

"What do you mean...Son of Laufey? I'm not..I can't..."

Loki violently shuddered, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his jacket tighter around him, tears dribbling down his pale cheeks.

Frigga took a step towards him in an attempt to comfort him, but he drew away.

"For the Norns' sake, TELL ME!" Loki howled, his gaze lingering hatefully on Odin.

"It is true," he said quietly, his one good eye full of remorse, "The Council of Valkyries were hired to arrest the remaining followers of the Jotun cult. Laufey did not intend for me to discover you, nor the horrible expirements you underwent at such a young age..."

"Experiments!?" Loki echoed, delving into a look of pure horror.

"The Tesseract, he intended to use it to create a weapon to destroy all wizards." Odin explained, his voice faltering a bit.

Loki shook his head, hands clutching his face, in denial, before he turned and ran, slamming the door to his bedroom behind him.

Thor paused, only mere inches away from the door. Some time had passed, for Odin and Frigga were nowhere to be seen.

"Loki, please come out, brother...mother is worried for you." Thor murmured.

"Go away." came Loki's broken response.

Thor shook his head with a sigh.

"Brother-"

"I'M NOT YOUR BROTHER!" replied Loki bitterly. Thor flinched like a puppy being kicked by its master.

"As you wish, Loki." Thor mournfully mused, sliding the plate he had been holding in his calloused hands, decked with a few fresh cookies, underneath the door. He stalked away, casting a glance back over his shoulder, before at last vanishing away.

Tony hesitated, before moving forward, finally feeling energy return to his joints, his eyes focused on the door, before he grabbed the handle, allowing it to fly open.

It was dark again.

Everything was a sweeping void, never ending, never changing.

_'Shit, not this again!' _He looked over his shoulder, seeing the door even Frigga and Odin, were gone once again.

"_Loki_! Loki, where are you!?" Tony called at last, breaking the utter silence. It echoed around, but was met with no response.

"Don't hide, it's me, it's me, Anthony!" he desperately added.

A gust of cold air blew past his shoulders, making him shudder, before he slowly turned around.

Suddenly he found himself in a different space. The walls were gray and long, stone of some sort. It was incredibly dark, save for a window high up, sprinkling down a small trace of light below. Tony could see every glimmer of dust swirling through that one ray.

Then there was the eyes.

Two electric blue eyes, staring right at them. He could see that the irises were glowing, surrounded by several bright veins, the same shade as the eyes themselves.

He blinked, slowly moving forward, fear hitting his gut as he could barely make out the features of this mysterious being. Its boney arms were shackled to the wall, lips sewn tightly together. There was a pleading, desperate look in its gaze as it looked at Tony.

He reached forward to touch it, slowly, delicately, then froze in shock when he heard a voice so hauntingly familiar.

"Goodbye, Anthony..."

That was when everything was absorbed in a swirl of white.

.::.

"Do you know him?"

A card with a face on it was held in front of him. It was pale and white, with reddish eyes. The shape of the face was oddly familiar, yet he did not respond.

He was slapped again, anger flaring in his tormentor's eyes, before he glanced at it again, and shook his head.

"Good." Laufey snarled, finally getting up and taking a step back.

He didn't know why Laufey was staring him over in such a manner, but when he saw another labcoated assistant appear, holding the cosmic cube in his gloves again, he began to shiver, tears creeping into his eyes.

"Wipe him again, he's a filthy liar and he needs to be punished." Laufey sneered.

His nostrils flared as he drew in rapid breaths, eyes growing wide with fear. With the little remnants of magic left in him, he allowed his thoughts to burst free from him, sending to the man, though he could barely remember his name now, begging for help.

_'Whatshisname help me please imscared no no stop please...'_

_'...Anthony, help me...'_

With a sudden bang, a tall figure with burning crimson eyes burst in, with a wave of a wand a green light shot out and struck Laufey in the chest. The sadistic man crumbled at an instant to the floor, no longer showing any signs of life. Laufey's eyes were round, staring blankly up at nothing, blood pouring from his imminent wound.

The crimson eyed man looked at the only other person in the room. The shackled other glanced up the shadowy figure, his own blue gaze seeming struck with recognition, though his lips were tightly sealed by black thread. He was trembling now, as he jerked forward in desperation. His body was bone thin from starvation, his green attire much too large and baggy over his frail hips, eyes bulging out of his exaggeratedly horrible features.

Smirking, the pale man waved his wand and removed the stitches from the debilitated mans mouth.

"That looked painful." was the only thing said.

The man immediately gasped for air, choking and coughing out until his lungs finally met air. He allowed his tongue to wash over them forth the first time in years, his breaths shaky and sounding overly painful.

"Ss...how...mm...h-h-ow l-long?" he squeaked in a raw voice, his throat scratchy and agitated.

"Oh about 15 years or so." the other replied.

His eyes widened in horror, tears beginning to leak from his eyes. 15... He was locked in this hellhole for fifteen whole years!?

"Is...is An-anthon-ny?" he began, but was cut off by a hacking of dreadful coughs, shaking his entire body. He looked as if he were nearly to die right then and there, from merely a cough, that was what a horrible condition he was in.

"Anthony is doing as well as can be expected of him."

His lips trembled, his gaze going faint from exhaustion.

"D-does he...mmm," he winced, a sharp pain lashing in his skull, "k-know I'm here?"

"I have not contacted him, I have only watched from afar. I have a feeling he would not wish to see me first." The man said with, perhaps a hint of regret in his eyes.

The other hesitated for a moment, still trembling out of sheer agony, before his head tipped to the side dazingly.

"T-Tom?" he finally muttered, his consciousness beginning to slip.

"Yes Loki?" Tom answered, glad to know that Loki was regaining some memories.

Loki did not respond, his head gone slack as his body stilled and went limp, though he was shallowly breathing. The veins on his face were still faintly, and eerily so, glowing. His arms went slack in the shackles pinning them to the wall, this peacefulness seeming to pass over his features.

Sighing, Tom unshackled him and prepared to make a long trip to America, Loki needed to be with Anthony, no matter how hard it would be to get him there. Tom nodded to himself making a promise that he would not fail his brother again.


	9. Chapter 8 - Desperate Measures

Loki slept through most of the night, barely stirring.

His head was pounding as his mind fought against over a decade of torture, spinning with horrible memories and the fight to regain thoughts from his past.

His eyes jerked, and he found himself lying in a bed. It wasn't particularly comfortable, but it was better than being chained to a wall.

Allowing his eyes to adjust, he was surrounded by cobblestone walls. There was a damp towel compressed onto his forehead, which he weakly pulled off, setting onto an elmwood nightstand inches away.

He pulled back the covers, looking out the closest window. Woods, woods, and more woods. Forest covered as far as he could see. He knew he was in a castle of sorts, but whom it belonged to was utterly uncertain.

Loki sat up, examining the glowing blue veins trailing down his arms, all the way to his wrists and fingertips. It was horrifying to look at...the way the Tesseract infected his body in such a way. Ruining his sanity, ruining his hopes of ever being free from his own father's influence...gods be damned, his own father did this to him!

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, examining his surroundings. His mind was rampant as he sought information, sought out memories, anything, that would explain what was happening...what had happened.

He needed Anthony. God, he wanted Anthony so bad, he wanted to hug him and cry and scream and kill...

Wait, where did that last one come from? The urge to murder, to strangle, made him curl and flex his fingertips. Kill? Kill who? Why kill? He had to...but why?

He saw the blueish tint fuzz up the corners of his eyes, making his body tremble. His hands clenched into fists.

_"Not again not again not again..."_ he cried, shaking as he desperately tried to fight off the inner demons struggling to break free.

"Something wrong Loki?" Tom said walking in with a new damp cloth and a glass of water. Noticing the shaking, Tom grew worried. He had only just gotten Loki stable... was he relapsing?

Loki shook his head madly and desperately, jerking to stand up, but only fell back, still utterly weak.

"Get out! Get...out!" he shrieked, his eyes beginning to change from green back to a startling electric blue. Tears streamed from his cheeks, only to grow hot and evaporate right as they formed.

Walking over to Loki, Tom did something he had only ever done for Tony. He hugged Loki. He knew what it felt like to lose you mind after all, he assumed it felt the same way gaining it again.

Only, that didn't work whatsoever. Loki shook, he felt it again, that losing of oneself. He no longer remembered Tom or Anthony or anyone, a horrible outraged yell escaping his lips, the blueness glowing and concentrating into his palms. With a blast of raw, uncontrolled magic, he threw Tom back against the wall, shattering the glass of water, shattering the iron bars on the window, that raw magic alone making his bed cave in and collapse.

Immediately after, panting for breath and still very weak, Loki shuddered again, his eyes growing heavy, before he fainted once more, collapsing onto the cold stone floor. The Tesseract's influence faded as quickly as it appeared, leaving him incredibly vulnerable.

Standing up and wincing Tom waved his hand and fixed the room, maybe he shouldn't have done that…

But his mind just felt so muddled at the time... it seemed like a good idea, why though? He shook his head and repaired Loki's wounds once again.

Natasha reared the corner, with a sigh, peering into the bedroom. She too had long thought Loki dead, only when she heard her Lord Voldemort had discovered where they were keeping him hostage had she become worried.

"Is he still being difficult, sir?" she murmured, striding over to check his forehead.

"He is having some trouble, it is most likely due to the exposure to the tesseract." Here he paused before saying.

"Do not touch him, losing and then regaining you mind can put you in a volatile state." Tom said closing his eyes knowing that he was slowly losing his mind and becoming more and more irrationally angry as the days passed.

Natasha nodded and watched him walk off.

She glanced back at Loki, who was still fast asleep before turning and shutting the door, hoping no one would see what she was about to do.

She pulled out her cellphone and dialed the first number she knew to call.

.::.

Pepper handed him yet another stack of papers to fill out on his desk.

Tony groaned, his eyes baggy and dark from lack of sleep, groggily pulling out his pen to write his signature with.

"Nightmares again?" she sighed. He sent her a look that told her immediately that her assumption was right.

"Look Tony, it may or may not be my place to say this, so don't take it personally but... Your boyfriend has been dead for fifteen years, and even if he's not, he didn't come to rescue you in Afgan, did he?"

Tony blinked, glancing down at the Arc Reactor implanted in his chest, before reluctantly nodding.

"I haven't dreamed about him for years, though, Pepp, until about a week ago, and every night he's screaming for me to help him, every damn time... I just... I dunno." He banged his fist against his coffee table in frustration, rubbing his forehead.

Pepper shook her head, beginning to leave.

"I'm sorry Tony. I'll give you some time alone, but I need those papers filed by tomorrow."

Tony nodded, watching wearily as Pepper vanished down the elevator. He grumbled to himself as he got up from his desk.

Pepper never knew Loki. She would never understand how much Loki had meant to him, how much love he felt for his beloved boyfriend...how damaged he was to learn he had perished.

_Riiing. Riiiiing._

He fumbled with his pocket, setting down the glass of scotch he had started pouring himself.

He glanced at the screen for a moment.

'Call incoming...Natasha Romanoff.'

Now that was an odd one.

He hadn't talked to Natasha since...

Since Tom and Loki's funeral.

He hesitated, picking up the phone and holding it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Tony where are you, right now?"

Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Nat, what've you done now?" he groaned.

"This is serious, Tony. You're not gonna believe what has happened."

He rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine. Stark Towers, New York. I'm real busy, Nat, what is so important you have to interrupt my work?"

"Get on a flight to London right now. You need to get here and be here for him, he's really sick and-"

"Woah woah woah! Nat, slow down, who's sick, why am I coming to London?"

She hesitated. Tony gripped the phone harder.

"Natasha! What the hell is going on!?" he snapped.

"You... You really don't know? No one told you yet?" she quietly responded.

"God damn it Natasha, no! Why don't you tell me what the hell is in London?"

"Tony, the Deatheaters raided Azkaban...they found Loki. Alive."

Tony grew still. He started shaking involuntarily, eyes wide and full of shock.

_"What?"_

"Dumbledore lied to you. He sent you away so you couldn't find out."

"No, impossible, he can't...he's _dead_, Natasha!"

"He's with me now, in critical condition. You have to believe me, Tony. Loki needs you, he's alone and scared and I don't know how to help him in any other way-"

"Where is he!?" Tony demanded, moving towards his bedroom to grab a briefcase.

"We're gonna be moving him to my house-y'know where that is, right?"

"Yes... Yes I will be getting on a flight immediately. Nat?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell him I love him." Tony hesitantly clipped, before hanging up, before choking up.

'_Loki's alive. Loki is alive, Dumbledore lied. Dumbledore never lies why did he lie lokisalive loki'_

_'Loki, I'm coming.'_

_'Don't leave me, yet.'_

_'I love you.'_


	10. Chapter 9 - Back to the Start

Natasha strolled over to Voldemort, bowing her head respectfully, before clearing her throat.

"My lord, don't kill me for this but... Well..." she began, her eyes lingering back to the hallway where Loki's room was located.

"Do not beat around the bush, I am a busy man Natasha." Voldemort sneered.

She sighed, biting her lip.

"I called Tony and told him about Loki." she explained, her eyes suddenly defiant and challenging, ready to defend herself if necessary.

Voldemort froze. Anthony was coming? He could not see him like this, if he even wanted to see him. Loki would have to be moved elsewhere…

His thoughts trailed off as he glanced back at Natasha.

"Then I am sure he is coming?"

"Yes. But we're gonna have to take Loki to my place. I have enough space for Tony to stay there, and I can keep an eye on them. If Tony comes to London, Dumbledore will find out, and he'll wanna lay low." Natasha explained, "I know it's gonna be hard for both of them, but what else could I do? Loki's dying, my lord. The Tesseract is devouring him from the inside out, I didn't want Tony to possibly lose him again, not without getting to say goodbye. No one deserves that."

"No, he does not deserve that. Natasha, move Loki to your house, I will continue on my research into the Tesseract. Loki will live, even if it cost me my life." Voldemort said the last part mostly to himself.

Natasha exhaled deeply, sending a look over her shoulder back at the doorway to Loki's room.

"I know you want to help him, my lord, and I hate to say this, but... Do you truly believe he's saveable? He nearly killed you today, he could've killed himself. He's incredibly unstable. I am his best friend, but the Loki I knew and cherished, well, that Loki is long gone. He's broken." Natasha wearily responded.

He suddenly felt an intense rush of anger at her, for thinking that he, Lord Voldemort, would not be able to cure his little brother's beloved.

"You dare question my abilities." he nearly hissed.

Natasha shook her head.

"I never said I doubted your strengths, my lord, but the amount of Tesseract magic tainting his own has caused him to show signs of... of that of a berserker, not quite a wizard. He is uncontrollable, unstoppable. He barely recognized you, what if he doesn't recognize Tony? What if he kills him?"

His anger subsided, leaving him feeling more tired than he thought humanly possible.

"He would not do that, the first thing he asked me was about Anthony and how he was. Natasha, seeing him... may help Loki to recover." Voldemort said, his eyes slipping closed as he felt a migraine coming.

.::.

_Loki rolled his eyes, giving in and at last taking a seat across the table._

_"I don't date for a reason, Anthony Riddle, so you best not waste my time." he grumbled, his finger twirling the straw to his Earl Grey tea._

_Tony grinned cheekily, pulling up his menu and taking a glance at it._

_"Aw, Snowflake, I love you, too." he teased, waggling his eyebrows flirtatiously._

_Loki fumed, his hands roaming once again to his own menu, not even bothering to look at Tony._

_"Don't call me that. We are not 'a thing', so don't make any blasphemous assumptions." he snorted, his knuckles almost white as he clenched the little pamphlet._

_Tony merely smirked._

_"You never said you didn't love me~" he purred. Loki scoffed back, setting the menu down and crossing his boney arms at once._

_"I do not."_

_"You're blushing! You totally do!" Tony shrilled. Loki felt the heat of annoyance rise in his cheeks... And maybe, something else._

_He pushed out his table, fed up with Tony's tease._

_Tony jerked from his seat, startled by Loki's sudden change of heart._

_"Loki, wait. I'm sorry, hey! Are you even listening to me?" _

_Loki paused, clenching his fists, before irritably shaking his head._

_"I think we're done here." he growled, before fading away in a puff of magic, leaving Tony standing alone at the entrance of the doorway._

_.::._

_"Thor!"_

_The blonde man turned around, having been chatting pleasantly with Steve and Bruce, his azure eyes alit with delight._

_"Tony! What a pleasant surprise! Of what the occasion am I delighted with your company?"_

_Tony nearly scoffed at that, but forced himself not to get agitated._

_"Well, Shakespeare," he muttered, before clearing his throat, "What is up with Loki and dates? He's your brother and all and he agreed to go out with me before he suddenly flipped shit and got outta there. What gives?"_

_Thor paused for a moment, eyebrows scrunching as he thought._

_"Dates... Loki? Oh!" he glanced nervously at his two comrades, before politefully requesting privacy._

_"Anthony Riddle... my brother is not the romantic type..." Thor began, looking about cautiously as if wondering if Loki was listening in._

_"Yeah, yeah, I got that part. But why?" Tony queried._

_Thor twiddled his thumbs, not making direct eye contact with Tony anymore. _

_"I don't believe that is my story to tell. His last boyfriend, from whence we came in Norway, did not last very long. It was not Loki's behavior that ended the relationship, but the particular man who hurt him. I would tread carefully, Anthony."_

_Tony nodded, parting his lips as to say something else, but Thor had already turned and wandered off._

.::.

Tony's mind was reeling, thick with emotion, like a rampant whirlwind out of control.

He knew one thing for certain: Loki was alive.

He did not know how, when, or why... But for whatever reason, he knew Natasha was not lying: She was close to Loki, they had nearly been an inseparable duo at Hogwarts, roaming the halls and corridors, laying their mischief onto innocent bystanders.

He was alive-he was sick, Natasha had said. They had found him in Azkaban.

Which meant Dumbledore had completely LIED.

How long had he been trapped there? In what conditions was he held? Did they... Torture him? Tony felt like he was gonna be sick, his stomach churning at the thought of what they could've done to Loki.

Loki would not have gone unpunished after the stunt they pulled that night- the night he and Tom supposively died.

Wait-did that mean Tom was still alive? Had they kept him deep in the dungeons of Azkaban, murdering away his sanity?

Tony shook the thought away. That was highly unlikely.

But then again, Loki was alive.

Tony closed his eyes, letting a sigh escape his throat, as he leaned back in his airplane seat, and awaited the long trip to London.


	11. Chapter 10 - Snowflake

Tony hesitated, bringing his fist up to the door.

He didn't knock just yet. He was incredibly nervous, unsure of what to expect inside. His mind had come up with all sorts of disastrous states Loki could be in.

At last, he collided his fist with the simple wooden door, knocking a good few times, despite the fact he was horrendously shaking.

Natasha swung the door open, grabbing Tony's collar and dragging him in, before slamming it behind them.

"Nobody saw you come here!?" she asked determinedly. Tony nodded.

"Of course. No followers whatsoever." he responded. He heard a groan somewhere down the hall, and moved to go discover the source, but Natasha pushed him back.

"What gives, Nat?" he growled, "I need to see him."

"I know, Tony, and you will. But before you go in that room, hear me out."

Tony sighed in irritation and his deprivation of slumber, folding his arms.

Natasha continued, "Loki is very ill. The Tesseract's power has infected his bloodstream for a long time now, I don't want any surprises if he behaves oddly or doesn't respond you to immediately. Be patient with him."

"Of course, Tasha," Tony clipped, "Where is he?"

She directed him down the long, winding hall, to a room isolated from the others. The door was locked from the outside-'Odd,' Tony thought-which Natasha had to fish out her key to unlock.

Click! The metal lock opened up, and quietly, he pushed the door open, creeping in against the dim light of the room.

There were no windows, no furniture except a bed, a nightstand, and the fan above, the lightbulb set on the lowest setting.

Tony froze immediately as soon as his gaze fell upon the lone figure in the bed. He didn't even recognize Loki at first, how unbearably thin he was-like a rotting skeleton, the electric blue veins crisscrossing his face and arms, the way his eyelids bulged, sticking out of their sockets which were sunken in from malnutrition, the dark bags surrounding them like a women's eyeshadow job gone horribly wrong.

He sank to his knees beside the bed, noticing how Loki's eyes flickered madly underneath those lids, the only thing showing any signs of life on his still, corpse-like body.

It hurt, hurt so bad... Tony's nightmares had come completely true, his chest pounded with agony as he bent down, moving his fingers only inches away from Loki's fragile-looking hand.

He tried to think, even though fear was consuming him.

'What the fuck did they do to him? Think Tony, think...this looks bad, but it's still Loki and you've missed him and he's important and he loves you why else would Nat call you if Loki didn't need you, don't you love him back, Tony, this is just Loki...Loki.'

He finally reached over, entwining his fingers into the freezing cold, clammy hand. He felt those freezing twigs of fingers twitch slightly, reacting to the warmth that was Tony.

'Loki was dead but now he's not why did he leave how is he alive what happened to him why are there glowing veins on his face why is he freezing cold is this Loki how could this be Loki is it...

This is Loki.

Loki...'

Nausea overwhelmed his senses, and he doubled over, fainting at an instant. The last thing he saw was intensely bright blue eyes filling with tears, before the blackness welcomed him in, swallowing him whole into neverending shadows.

.::.

_Tony grunted, sitting up in bed in exhaustion, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, before peering over at Loki._

_Loki had snuggled himself into the pillows, hogging at least 75% of the blankets, appearing for once, rather peaceful._

_Tony shrugged, reaching over and peeling away the covers slightly, exposing his boyfriend's pale, bare shoulder._

_"Lokiiiiii!" he whined, putting on his best pouty face. _

_Loki stirred, eyelids flickering a bit before he tiredly blinked open one stormy green eye._

_"Mhmmm...? Anthony... go back to sleep, love." Loki murmured, closing his eye again and shuffling back under the covers._

_But Tony was Tony Riddle, and he always gets what he wants._

_He yanked childishly at the covers again._

_"C'mon Lokes, I'm feeling in a sciency mood! Do the thing, pleeeaase?" _

_Loki groaned, slowly sitting up. Tony clapped his hands together in immature excitement, eyes dancing with merry delight as he knelt in front of Loki, bowing his head._

_"And I thought... I was the manipulative one..." Loki mumbled, his fingertips twitching as he brought them to Tony's hair, gently pressing them into those soft strands and combing them back. A greenish glow emitted from his fingers, smoothing and conditioning Tony's brown locks into a perfected, pushed back sweep. _

_Tony grinned, pecking a kiss to Loki's cheek, who only moaned and swatted him away._

_"Now then... let me sleep, Anthony!" _

_"Of course, Snowflake!"_

.::.

Tony's eyes slowly creaked open, a shade of hazel brightly aligning itself to reflect the moonlight cascading in a dim ray from the windowsill.

His head throbbed immediately, a dizzy spell of nausea washing over him briefly; he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, teeth gritting as he bit down the pain and at last feeling of illness that was finally exiting his system.

He slowly sat up, taking awareness of his surroundings.

Tony was on a simple couch, sprawled across it neatly (something that next to never occurs at home), in an oddly familiar bedroom...

Yes! Yes, it was all coming back to him, now. He had been here, he had been with Natasha, a sleeping figure had been asleep on the bed only feet away, which was now folded neatly and bare. He could faintly detect voices down the halls, two perhaps, one sounding sharp and feminine, the other articulate and distinctly masculine.

Tony swallowed hard, not sure how to feel right now.

He hadn't been dreaming.

He really had left Stark Towers on short notice, just because of a phone call, boarding a plane and flew all the way to England, he had gone all the way to Nat's house, and all because... Because...

"Tasha... Tasha I can't do this!"

"Calm down, you're only going to make it hard on yourself if you keep worrying away at-"

Tony jerked up.

He knew those voices.

A cold chill ran down his spine.

Loki was alive.

He had heard his voice.

Tony was trembling now, this confirmation stunning him into utter silence.

_'"He's afraid, Tony. Don't pressure him into talking about Azkaban...or the night he vanished... let him do it on his own...with time, with patience."' _Natasha had stated over the phone merely a day before.

_'Patience, Tony. He needs you, he needs your help and guidance. Calm down, calm down, fifteen years isn't so long, right?'_

He thought of Pepper, briefly interrupting his own silent, self pep talk. He had left her so suddenly, and without warning. Had ignored her worrysome calls.

Right now, she no longer mattered...

Tony did not love her. Not in the fifteen years he had been acquainted with his secretary of Stark Industries...he couldn't bring himself to love her.

He slowly got up from the couch, with a terrible and heavy ache in his bones... An aching, a grieving far more than physical means, tremoring in his every slow step.

The door, he pushed open with the quietness of a ninja, not even bothering to shut it. He didn't want them to hear him.

"I can't... don't make me go back in there, Nat!" a wail interrupted the previously hushed murmurings Tony had been following.

He slipped around a corner, endulging in the shadows so he may watch quietly and listen.

Tony flinched when he finally saw him.

Loki had been previously covered in thick blankets, so of course, Tony only got a mere glimpse of his already awful state.

Tony's assumptions that even in Azkaban, because Loki had been living for so long in such hellish conditions, he still wouldn't be drastically changed, at least physically.

And god, was he so damn wrong.

He was wearing a green pullover, one of his old ones from his time at Hogwarts, but it was now too big for him. Loki had always been skinny...but now, he was reduced to...bones.

His skin, whiter than snow itself, looked stretched, tight from dramatically exaggerated bones. His eyes seemed to pop out of his skull, electric blue instead of the expected jade-surrounded by even brighter-hell, were they glowing?-veins, tracing all over his face and arms.

He was a walking twig, no, a skeleton. Bruises and healing cuts littered and splotched out massive patches of his dainty complexion. Tony felt like he was going to be sick. Again.

To make matters even worse, Loki was crying. Natasha was attempting to comfort him, but nothing seemed to be working, the way the tears streamed so fast and hard, Loki could've been dubbed the Niagra Falls at this rate.

"He came here for you, Loki." she encouraged, "Tony wants to help you."

Loki rubbed his bone-thin hands across his cheeks, wiping away some of the salty stains from his sharpened cheekbones.

"Tasha...I-I... I cannot-"

"You can do this. You're stronger than this. You have to be strong, Loki." she murmured, resting a hand on his shoulder.

His lip quivered, mouth parting as if to say something more.

But Tony could not bear to wait any longer.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes again for a moment, reveling in the things he was about to do, about to say.

He walked out of the darkness, trying his hardest not to tear up, not when he cleared his throat, alerting their attention. Tried to look past the fear in Loki's eyes-'Fuck, what did they do to him to make him so...broken?'-tried to see the Loki he knew, the Loki he loved, in the poor, damaged soul before him.

"Hey, Lokes." was all he could say, voice cracking on the last syllable.

Loki began shuddering, shrinking back as Tony slowly approached, threatening to burst into tears once again.

Tony allowed his hands to leave his sides, wrapping around the dangerously thin frame, and pull Loki close, running his fingers into the once-familiar, matted raven locks.

"I missed you, Snowflake." was what he croaked out, before he completely broke down into sobs.


	12. Chapter 11 - Forgive Me, Thy Brethren

Sun danced in sparkles into the living room. Loki was laying on a makeshift bed of the couch (he had refused to return to his room once Tony arrived), watching an episode of Doctor Who on the television. Natasha was cooking something that smelled absolutely appetizing, making Tony's mouth start to water at the very whiff of it.

Loki had curled himself fervently in a heap of blankets and comfortable pillows, but even so, he was still shivering, eyes glued entrancingly to the screen, their glow of blue dimmer then they had been yesterday.

Tony crept around the corner, as quietly as possible setting on a vertically placed chair, taking a seat. Fortunately, Loki didn't notice-well, he didn't seem to. His gaze was intently staring at the television, hell was he even blinking?

"I never understood this show." Tony said a but nervously, hoping to stir some sort of conversation with his former boyfriend.

Loki visibly flinched, his body shuddering as he glanced once Tony's way, then returned to the television screen.

"...I missed fifteen years of it, I'm attempting to catch up whilst I'm confined to this household." he mumbled back, his eyes flickering downwards a moment before returning to the screen.

Tony swallowed. He had hit the shallow end, he had to tread carefully now if not to piss Loki off or send him into unspeaking grief...like he had last time.

Unfortunately, Loki caught on to his nervousness, and sighed deeply, the sound rumbling through his hollow chest.

"Fifteen years," Loki echoed, voice suddenly numb and void of emotion, "locked away in a rancid, dirty cell for crimes I did not commit. Chained to a wall in rusty shackles..." He started shaking now, almost violently, as he wrapped his arms around himself, hugging his own body in a death grip.

"Loki-" Tony began, but Loki cut him off, no longer even watching his show, his eyes deadlocked on Tony in the most painful gaze he'd ever seen.

"They broke me with illusions. They sent images of everyone I loved, and I had to watch over and over and over again as Thor died. As mum died. They used your image frequently, slaughtering you in multiple ways until I screamed. And then that's when they sewed my lips shut, because I just couldn't stop screaming. Gods, make it stop, end me now...!" Loki howled, clutching his head with a rampant cry.

Natasha whirled around the corner, running forward in a mad scramble to calm him, but Tony was faster, his mind reeling in agony at Loki's own words.

He pushed the covers aside, peeling them off of Loki's shuddering form, before sitting down beside him. Loki whimpered, tears streaming from his clenched eyelids, the blueish veins dancing on his skin in a gradually brightening glow.

Tony hesitated, before guiding Loki's half-conscious head to lay in his lap, forcing him close until his cries were dampened until just shuddering.

He glanced Natasha's way, who cocked her head, trying to lip something to him, but he ignored it, focusing back on Loki, who was going slack and exhausted, eyes open but lulling in between a dream state and reality.

"Don't go...don't go, don't go..." Loki muttered over and over again in a delirium, fingertips tightly clenching Tony's knees, small fistfuls of denim in his palms.

Tony rested an arm slackly over Loki's waist, the other gently combing through the matted knots of Loki's raven hair, to remind him that he was still there.

"I've gotcha, Lokes. I've gotcha." he softly replied, stroking his hair until at last Loki fell unconscious once more, curled up into Tony's lap like a broken doll.

Only then and now, did Tony allow the silent tears to fall, a shattered whisper escaping his lips.

"I'm gonna kill the bastards who did this to you." was Tony's quiet vow, before he slumped back in both grief and shock.

'They're going to wish they were never born, the assholes. No one deserves this level of pain. No one.'

.::.

His head felt numb and nauseous, everything around him spinning out of control.

"No one's coming for you," a eerily familiar voice rumbled in his ear. He shuddered, jade eyes widening at the sight of a man with sickeningly pale blue skin and startling crimson eyes staring back at him.

Loki tried to shriek, scream, yell, anything...for help, but found his lips burned to move. He twitched them again, only to feel blood begin to seep into his mouth and dribble onto his tongue.

They had sewn his lips together.

"Your precious family isn't coming for you, you don't get it, do you?" the man continued, cutting himself off with a rugged chuckle like boulders rolling down a jagged peak, "No one loves you, you worthless lab rat. You weren't made for love, you were manufactured to be a weapon."

A calloused thumb brushed his chin, before all five fingers gripped his chin roughly, forcing him to face that scar-ridden face. Loki trembled, eyes beginning to leak with tears, and he hyperventilated through his nostrils, feeling as if he were to faint.

This only made the much larger man howl in laughter, his hand still tightly gripped on Loki's chin.

"How pathetic are you, my son," Laufey spat, "you would be honorably killing all those pathetic muggles at this point of your life, and you've wasted it all being some mudblood's pet!"

_'No,'_ Loki's gut screamed,_ 'This is a dream, this isn't real, this isn't real!'_

Laufey raised a syringe, eyes gleaming, when suddenly a strangled cry erupted from nowhere:

_"Loki!?"_

.::.

Tony nearly dropped his cup of coffee when he finally returned to the couch, finding Loki writhing and crying hysterically in his sleep.

He had clawed upwards, his hands pawing desperately at his lips as he thrashed back and forth, broken sobs escaping him as he violently shrieked and yowled.

Tony rushed forward, quickly setting his coffee mug down as he rushed to the side of the couch, reaching out and grappling Loki's wrists, effectively pinning them to opposite sides of his unbearably thin frame.

"Loki!? Loki, wake up!" he pleaded.

As if on cue, Loki made a sort of jerk, gasping and still whimpering, bright cobalt eyes seeing nothing, yet, everything.

He immediately released Loki's wrists, pulling the covers back up around his shivering form, trying to mask his fears and worries.

It took Loki a few moments to register what occurred as his mind slowly translated from the blank aftermath into a dark, cold remembrance of whatever he had dreamed of.

"Anthony...?" came the slurred, slow question.

"I'm right here, Lokes, I'm right here." Tony reassured, giving Loki's boney hand a brief squeeze.

Loki seemed to immediately forget the only minutes before, his body going slack as he curled against the pillow in which Tony had replaced him with in the absence of his lap.

Tony glanced towards the kitchen, where he met eyes with Natasha. She gave her head a slight shake, though he understood how she really felt, her woes and concerns for Loki, his best friend since he first arrived at Hogwarts, would only grow worse with the coming tides.

A storm was brewing inside of Loki, this, Tony knew. A terrible, terrible storm, and they had to quench the beast within's drooling thirst before a disaster could occur.

But how, in Loki's current state as he was, could they possibly save him now?

.::.

.::.

.::.

Voldemort waited, lurking, in his shadowy abode, crimson eyes lingering briefly on the corpses strewn about, fingertips twitching as with each coming moment, his sanity diminished.

He wanted death.

He had death, he wanted more.

No, he wanted a specific death.

He grinned.

He would murder Harry Potter.


End file.
